The Effects of Sodium Valproate in Improving Developmental Delay in Seizure-Free Children with Abnormal Electroencephalography

Background: Developmental delay is one of the most common problems of children referred to pediatric neurology clinics. While there are reports on rehabilitation and its effects, limited studies are available to delineate pharmacotherapy of such children. Because many children with developmental delay have abnormal findings in electroencephalography, we aimed to treat a group of these children, who were seizure free with sodium valproate to find the effect of sodium valproate in improving the developmental delay. Methods: We included patients referred to Mofid Children’s Hospital for developmental delay who had no organic or brain structural diseases, genetic or metabolic disorders, or intrauterine TORCH infection; however, the patients had abnormal electroencephalograms (without seizure). After clinical, para clinical, and neuroimaging evaluations, the patients were divided into two groups; those receiving treatment with sodium valproate and rehabilitation (experimental group, 25 patients), and those having only rehabilitation (control group, 25 patients). The patients were followed up and assessed at 6, 12, and 18 months after initiation of the study. The data obtained were analyzed using SPSS software.  Results: All patients in the experimental group had normal electroencephalograms after 18 months of treatment. Differences in the scores of developmental quotient in both groups, before and after treatment were significant.  Conclusion: Sodium valproate along with rehabilitation was very effective in the improvement of speech, mental, and behavioral development.